


Old Words

by Morse_s Child (sherlockstummy)



Category: Inspector Morse (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, endeavour canon reference, resignation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 02:51:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4590246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlockstummy/pseuds/Morse_s%20Child
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robbie finds an old letter of Morse's lying around and gets curious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Words

“Sir? What’s this?”

Morse huffed. “Lewis, you’ll have to elaborate, seeing as I cannot currently tell what ‘this’ refers to.”

“This envelope, on your mantle.”

“I told you not to snoop.”

“I’m not! Ye don’t keep yer important papers lyin about.” Robbie leaned casually on the doorframe, brandishing an envelope between two fingers. “So, what is it?”

Morse picked up a whiskey glass, carefully drying it with a dish towel, watching Robbie in his peripheral. “You’re a detective. What do you deduce about it?”

Robbie turned the envelope over in his hands. “The paper’s yellowed; it’s old, and it’s been carelessly stored. There’s wrinkles and stains on it. The envelope isn’t addressed, and it’s still sealed tight.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, sir. Love letter, maybe?” 

“Funny.” Morse said; Robbie smirked. “Open it and find out.” He put away the glass he was cleaning and dried his hands as Robbie carefully opened the envelope. 

Robbie scanned the letter once. “It’s typed. It’s got your name at the top, an’…whoa! Your rank is DC!”

“Amazing as it may be to believe, I was young once.” Morse teased lightly, folding the dish towel over his arm and turning to face Robbie with some amusement. 

“It’s addressed to a CS Bright.”

“Mm. He was the CS before Strange was promoted.”

Robbie reads through the letter again, face and eyes betraying disbelief. Morse smiles fondly; he likes the open quality of Robbie’s soft features. Honesty and innocence; sweet bliss. “It’s a letter of resignation,” he says at last, hands dropping to his sides, the letter fluttering in his loose grip. 

“Yes.” Morse confirms. He’d only recently found the old thing, a relic of times long past, when he was restless and unsettled, unsure of himself.

“Why?” Robbie asked, eyes full of incredulity. Morse finds the honesty there both shocking and refreshing; it’s adoration, too. 

Morse shrugged. “I was young. There were times when it felt like I wasn’t doing enough for, well, everyone. For the general public. I’ve always been taught that justice is important, and there were times that I felt…limited, for being a DC.” He chuckled. “Car thefts, petty theft, suicides…minor cases I didn’t feel came anywhere close to serving justice. After being let on some bigger cases, a few young boys taking some man’s car for a spin didn’t quite match up.” He sighed, tilting his head up, almost as if looking into the past. “I felt I wasn’t doing what I’d joined the police to do.”

Robbie remained silent, listening as Morse spoke. He shifted, crossing his arms over his chest, the letter still in his hand. “I didn’t have any expectations, I don’t think.” He shrugged. “In some sense, it was a job, just like anything else.” He shifted his feet. “Guess I was restless too, Sir. Think I joined up shortly after our Lyn was born, if I can recall correctly.” He rubbed self-consciously at the back of his head. “Mot nights, I was already up when calls came through.”

Morse chuckled. “I can imagine.”

Robbie smiled shyly. “Yeah. Maybe I was able to keep me distance from the work because of Lyn. I was going home to a different life. I didn’t need to worry about work at home.”

“Do you still do that?” Morse asked. “Walk into an entirely different world?” There may have been hints of the condescending, but it was mostly plain curiosity. 

“Sorta.” Robbie shifted uncomfortably against the wall. “Not as much since I became a sergeant. I take more of me work home with me, try an’ puzzle things out. But I’m not restless about me job. An’ I never thought about resigning.”

Morse smiled. “You’re a better man than I, Robbie.” He pushed himself off the counter. “Well? Shall we to the pub?”

Robbie checked his watch. “All right, Sir. I think I have time for a pint.”

“Good.” Morse clapped Robbie gently on the back. “Come on, then. I’ll drive you over.”

Robbie smiled. “Yes, Sir.” He hesitated before the bin, and then dropped the letter into it, watching it float to the bottom.

He had a feeling his superior wouldn’t be needing it anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> We all know Morse wrote a resignation letter to Crisp. I believe it's in the realm of possibility that he wrote one addressed to Bright as well.
> 
> There was an Endeavour fanfic called "Child" which also referenced this, but I forget the author. Ah well.


End file.
